I love Cannellini beans. For the past few years I have been
experimenting with a ton of different dishes using them. Aside from being very nutritious,
they have such a great taste. If only I could get my kids to eat them.

I had seen a kind of white bean soup somewhere but did not have a recipe for
it, so I decided to wing it and see what happens. What happened was one of my
favorite soups was born, that’s what. When I made it a second time I added crab meat to it and POOF…..magic was made! I can seriously eat a whole pot of this stuff by myself.

If you like crab, then you have to try this soup. If you don’t, you can leave it out
and it’s still fantastic. But you’ll be missing out on the magic. Seriously, don’t miss out onthe magic.

Put the oil and butter in a pot. Heat on medium low till butter melts.
Sautee the carrots, celery and onion on medium-low heat till all are soft. Do not brown any of them! About 12 – 15 minutes.
Add in the garlic, cayenne, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.
Cook for another 3 or 4 minutes. You want the garlic to cook a little, but not brown. (Brown garlic is bitter)
Add the beans and the chicken stock.
Simmer for about 20-30 minutes and then add a handful of Romano cheese.
Simmer another 20 – 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
Use an immersion blender and blend till smooth. (Or pour into a regular blender and blend. Then return to pot.)
The consistency becomes smooth and creamy. No need for cream! But you could add a little to lighten it up a bit if you like. Personally I don’t think it needs it.

About 3 – 5 minutes before you are ready to serve, add the crab into the soup. You just want the crab to get worm.
Ladle into bowls.
Top with salt, pepper and a little more grated cheese.

You may like bread……..I love bread. And in all seriousness Ciabatta bread is awesome. A great chewy outer crust and a light and airy inside.
I really can’t get enough of this bread. It works well with so many things I make.

In this instance I am making a Ciabatta crouton for the purpose of putting it into my Italian Onion Soup. Normally I wouldn’t make such a huge crouton.

Ciabatta square rollsolive oilsalt and pepper.

Pre-heat over (or toaster oven) to 350.

Cut the rounded top off of the Ciabatta roll, about 3/4 of an inch from the bottom.

Place on an oven safe tray and drizzle olive oil over top and add salt and pepper.

Ciabatta Bread Croutons

Bake for about 15 – 17 minutes, or until bread starts to get brown and crispy. (Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn

Remove from oven and let it cool. As it cools, it will firm up quite a bit and get nice and crispy.
That’s good! It will soak up the soup well.

As so the tops of the bread do not do to waste, I also cube those up, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake along side of the rolls. I usually serve these on the side of the soup, just in case someone wants extra.